The Difference That Matters

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From NAU to the NFL

NAU Running Back Zach Bauman signs a contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

On May 10,
2014, Zach Bauman’s dream came true – Northern Arizona University’s record
breaking running back signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals to play
professional football in the National Football League. For Bauman, this moment
is the culmination of a lifetime of hard-work and dedication, and the journey that
brought Bauman here is about as storybook as they come.

Against all odds

In 2009,
Lumberjack football running back Zach Bauman came to Northern Arizona
University with something to prove—that he could achieve anything through hard
work and determination.

Throughout
his entire life, Bauman has been underestimated. When he was younger, he was
told that he could not play running back, and that he wasn’t fast or strong
enough to succeed in football. Not highly recruited after high school himself,
he watched his friends and teammates depart for the university football
powerhouses.

“Even when I
was younger, the coaches wouldn’t run plays for me, and focused on what they
thought I couldn’t do,” Bauman says. “They said I was too undersized. I’ve had
a chip on my shoulder since I was eight years old from those experiences, and
that helped me develop the work ethic to prove them wrong.”

Defined by greatness

And prove
them wrong he did. Bauman concluded his Lumberjack football career with
extraordinary statistical accomplishments: 5,132 career rushing yards, another
1,181 receiving yards, and 51 touchdowns. Bauman is the university’s all-time
leading rusher, and was twice on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award, an
achievement bestowed on the best offensive player in the Division I Football
Championship Subdivision.

“I knew that I
had the ability,” Bauman explains. “I just had to work at it. I dreamed of one
day breaking records, being a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, and being
one of the best players at NAU. To actually have these things come true is
incredible.”

Finally, on
May 10, Bauman proved his doubters wrong again, and signed a free agent
contract with the Cardinals. Their interest is the ultimate testament to how
Bauman’s incredible work ethic and fierce determination have paid off. Bauman has worked hard to reach this point,
and credits the university with providing him the opportunity to exhibit what
he is capable of achieving.

“So many other universities passed on me, and
that motivates me every day and lets me know I still have something to prove,”
Bauman says. “Northern Arizona University took a chance on me and put their
faith in me, and I’m so grateful for that.”